Straight From The Heart
by mysticgirl916
Summary: Emma's birthday is approaching, and Will wants to get her the perfect gift. When the glee club encourages him to write her a song, he has trouble putting his thoughts into words. Story takes place some time after my last fanfic, "Perfect Harmony"
1. Emma's Letter

The door to apartment 203 opened, and Will let himself in. It seemed much quieter after the split with Terri, but nevertheless it was his own place now – having been granted sole ownership of the apartment as a result of the divorce proceedings, Terri had moved in with her sister until she could find her own place.

He had come home after a long day at his job at McKinley High teaching classes, preparing lessons, and arranging music for the glee club's upcoming performances and rehearsals. Ever since he found out that Terri's pregnancy had been a lie, his world had been spiraling out of control. The only things that kept him buoyant were his job, glee club, his students, and his love for Emma Pillsbury.

Will turned on the light in the room that used to be Terri's craft room – and what was going to be a nursery for the baby. All traces of Terri were gone from that room. With the help of some friends, he had turned the room into a place where he could think and just get away from stress. The walls were painted a pale blue, the only furniture was a small sofa, a bookcase filled with music books, his old yearbooks, a mini stereo with a few CDs and assorted photos, and a couple of small tables and lamps. Beside the bookcase was a stand on which a guitar rested, he had purchased the instrument recently and loved when he could just play and let the music relax him. His favorite photo sat on the side table beside the sofa, it was a picture of him and the glee club taken by Emma. It was in a black wooden frame decorated with 12 gold stars (one for each member) and one large silver star at the top (to represent him) – the frame had been decorated by Rachel and gifted to him by the students.

Sitting on the sofa, he opened his bag and pulled out a book he was reading during his free period after grading some pop quizzes taken in his sophomore Spanish class earlier that day. When he opened it, a small sheet of paper folded several times over fell out and onto the floor, Will's name written on it in very neat handwriting. Picking it up, he remembered that Emma had given it to him during lunch and he had put it into his book so he wouldn't forget about it. He unfolded the paper and read Emma's note:

_Dear Will,_

_It is hard to believe that time has passed quickly since we declared our love for each other at the invitational performance. You don't know what kind of influence you've had on my life and how you've touched the lives of the glee club for the better. I know you've been through a lot lately, but whenever you need advice remember that I'll be there for you._

_I also thought I'd let you know that my birthday is coming up. I don't usually ask for any kind of extravagant gift, but what I always hope for is a gift that comes straight from someone's heart. You are the most heartfelt person I know, perhaps your gift will be one I will always remember._

_I look forward to it._

_Love always, Emma_

Will put the note down beside him. He did know that Emma's birthday was coming up – he had made a note of it in the small datebook he carried with him. And he knew that she loved heartfelt gifts. But what does someone like him get for the person he loves the most? He had no idea where to start, all he knew was that he was going to make his gift the most heartfelt she had ever received.

_Maybe I can get some help from the kids at the next glee practice_, he thought as he got up to make himself a cup of tea in the kitchen. Going to them for help would be a good place to start.


	2. Free Association

Finn was the first of the glee students to arrive for the next practice. He couldn't help but notice that Will was early – he was usually the last person to arrive. But there he was leaning against the piano looking at some sheet music, lost in thought. Feeling curious, he went up to him. "Something on your mind, Mr. Schu?" Finn asked. "Oh, hey Finn," Will replied. "Actually, there is something on my mind, and I was hoping you guys could help me."

He told Finn the whole story. About Emma's birthday, and how he wanted to give her something special as a gift.

Later, as the rest of the glee club assembled, Finn stood up, and with a nod to Will, he faced the other club members. "Guys, Mr. Schu needs our help," he said. "Someone very close to him is having a birthday, and he wants to give her something special – something heartfelt. He needs some ideas." A murmur ran through the rest of the club, then Mercedes spoke up. "Is the present for Miss Pillsbury by any chance?" she asked, which made Brittany and Santana sitting behind her giggle with delight. "Actually, yes," Will said. "She likes heartfelt gifts." Finally, Artie spoke up. "Remember when we were learning about ballads, how they are a way for us to express our feelings in a song?" he said. The rest of the students were catching on. "What if Mr. Schu were to do that for Miss Pillsbury?" "You know Artie, you're on to something," Rachel added. "Mr. Schu, we've heard you sing before many times, and you're just as good as us. We also know you're just as good at arranging music, our performances as of late reflect that a great deal. Why don't you write Miss Pillsbury a song for her birthday, to show her how much you care for her?" "Rachel is right," said Kurt, "a song is the most heartfelt gift you can give her. And it will let you use your greatest weapon – your voice. Just like you taught us." The rest of the club was buzzing with excitement. "I think that's a great idea, you guys," Will said with a smile. "She's been a good friend to all of us, and I care for her very much. But I don't really know how to put those feelings into words."

"Don't worry," said Tina. "We'll help you!"

So after spending some time working on a new performance number, the glee club rallied to help Will. They gathered around him at the side of the piano where he was standing, each with a sheet of paper and a pen. "What we've got to do to help you with this song," said Rachel, "is to brainstorm for ideas. Free-associate. Then you can take the ideas and put them together." "When you think of Miss Pillsbury, how does she make you feel?" Quinn asked. "Well," replied Will, "she's the kind of person who makes me feel safe and loved. She's a good listener, she cares deeply about the people in her life and she's always there when I need advice. I feel like I'm in some kind of dream state when I'm around her." As he continued listing some of Emma's good traits, the kids scribbled down notes based on what he was saying. When they were done, Rachel passed the sheets of paper, now in a neat stack of twelve, over to Will. "Here you go," she said with a smile. Will smiled back. "Thank you so much, you guys," he said. "I'm glad I decided to come to you for help." "The rest is up to you now," Artie added, "and we know the song is going to turn out great."

Finally, practice ended and the glee club went their separate ways leaving Will by himself. He looked at each of the sheets of paper to see what the kids had written – even Brittany had some good suggestions. He put them back into its neat stack and slid them carefully into his bag before shutting the lights off to the choir room and locking the door behind him. He walked down the hallway with a spring in his step, he couldn't wait to get home and start working on his song for Emma.


	3. Birthday

Emma slowly opened her eyes as the clock radio on her bedside table played music from her favorite station. She sat upright in bed and watched the sunlight stream through her window, a cool breeze rustled the white curtains. _Time to start another day,_ she thought as she got out from under the covers. But for Emma, today was no ordinary day.

Today was Emma's birthday.

After a shower, breakfast and carefully packing her lunch into their plastic containers, she was back in her room deciding on what to wear. Examining her closet, she finally decided on a violet cardigan over a white blouse with a matching violet skirt and violet shoes. She slipped a string of pearls around her neck, put tiny pearl studs in her ears, gave her hair one last brush, then went to collect her purse and lunch bag before stepping out of her apartment and locking the door. Quietly, she rode the elevator down to the parking garage and got into her car for the long drive to McKinley High.

When Emma arrived at the school and pulled into her designated parking spot, she noticed several spots down Will's blue car was already there. In the short time that she had been on staff, she had never known Will to get to school before her. Collecting her belongings, she shut the door of her car and started walking towards the main building.

She punched in at the main office, then walked down the hallways towards the guidance department. There were students all around her taking things out of lockers, talking with friends and hurrying towards their classes. Delicious smells emanated from the home economics room, peeking into the classroom window she saw Puck and Quinn laughing and tossing flour at one another. When she reached the guidance department, she opened the door to her office, sanitized her hands, fussed with the papers on her desk and sat. A steaming mug of hot tea sat by the computer – someone remembered to bring it to her. The bell rang, which signaled the start of another school day.

As the day progressed, Emma couldn't stop thinking about Will as she gave advice to students, sprayed her plants, busied herself with paperwork and answered phone calls . Some of the other guidance counselors stopped by to wish her a happy birthday, she was happy that they remembered and thanked them for their kindness.

Lunchtime finally arrived, and Emma walked into the teachers' lounge and sat at her usual table. She pulled on her plastic gloves and one by one removed her lunch containers from its bag, lifted the lids and inspected the contents. Occasionally, she would sneak glances at the open door to see if Will would walk in to join her. She ate her lunch slowly and quietly, the clock ticked, chairs squeaked, the other teachers talked amongst themselves. _Maybe he's busy with something,_ she thought to herself. _I haven't seen him at all today._ As the lunch period wound down, she carefully put her lunch containers back into the bag, placed her garbage in the nearby trash can and walked out of the lounge.

Emma made it back to her office just as the bell rang to signal the period change. The door was unlocked and opened just a crack, the same way she left it when she went for lunch. Stepping inside, she noticed something on her desk. On top of a folded sheet of paper was a single pink rose tied with a white ribbon. She gently pushed the flower aside and unfolded the paper. It was a note.

_Dear Emma,_

_Happy Birthday!_

_Meet me in the choir room 10 minutes after the final bell. There's something special that I would like to give you. The glee club will be there as well, so don't be late!_

_Love, Will_

Emma smiled as she re-read the note from Will, he must have snuck into her office and left it on her desk while she was having lunch. Sitting back down, she wondered what he had in store for her as she picked up the rose and stared longingly at the fragile pink petals.


	4. Will's Song

Will nervously ran his fingers through his hair as he stood against the door to the choir room to wait for Emma. Inside, members of the glee club were finishing up decorating the room for a surprise party. He had finished writing and composing his song a couple of days earlier and he was very proud of it – a friend even helped him record it and burn it onto a CD along with some other songs he knew she liked. He had put every bit of his heart and soul into it and hoped she would like what he did.

The final bell rang at last, and people began to fill the hallways. The note he had left for her instructed her to come down 10 minutes after the bell to give the kids enough time to finish decorating. Ten minutes finally passed, and he could hear the sound of footsteps approaching. He turned towards the window in the door and gave some frantic hand gestures as a signal to the kids to stop what they were doing. He smiled as he saw Emma come closer, she was carrying the pink rose he had left with the note. "Ready to come inside?" he asked her. She nodded, and he slowly opened the door and led her into the room.

"SURPRISE!" cried the glee kids in unison. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Emma stood in a state of shock. A birthday banner was hung in the back of the room with clusters of balloons on either side. On a table off to one side was a tray with 14 large frosted cupcakes – Puck and Quinn had made them that morning before classes – and a pitcher of juice with 14 plastic cups beside it. The glee kids then serenaded her with a rendition of "Happy Birthday" as Finn led her to a chair and sat her down. "I can't believe you all did this just for me," she said, trying to hold back a tear. "It was the least we could do," replied Finn, "after everything you've done for us…and a few hints dropped by Mr. Schu." Will partially blushed as the kids laughed and Finn gave him a wink. Then Rachel stepped forward and addressed Emma. "And now, we have two very special presentations," she announced. "We heard you liked heartfelt gifts, so this is a present from the glee club to you." She handed Emma a gift wrapped in pink paper and silver ribbon, who then started to unwrap it. Inside was a photo album filled with pictures of the glee club as they progressed, including pictures from the invitational performance when Will and Emma sang their duet together. "Thank you Rachel, thank you everyone," Emma said with a smile. "Now for the second presentation," continued Rachel. "Mr. Schu would like to present his gift to you, he worked very hard on it and he hopes you like it too." The kids applauded as Rachel returned to her seat and Will stood at the front of the room to face Emma. "At first I wasn't too sure what kind of gift I wanted to give you," he told her, "so I turned to the students for advice and they helped me figure out what to do." He then walked over and picked up the nearest guitar, slipping the strap over his head and tuning the strings. "Em, I wrote you a song, it's called 'You're The Only One'. I hope you like it." A hush fell over the room as he began to play the beginning of the song. Then he began to sing in his strong, clear voice.

_From the day I met you_

_The day I saw your smiling face_

_I knew my heart would guide me_

_To a better place_

_I couldn't help but notice_

_The way you looked at me_

_That look so kind and caring_

_And I knew instantly…_

_That you were the only one for me_

_The person I could be with_

_Even through the darkest night_

_You saw in me the things_

_That no one else could see_

_And you saw me in a different light_

_You made me feel safe in your arms_

_And on you I could depend_

_There's no better person than you_

_That I could call my friend_

_Hope and inspiration_

_Were the things you gave to me_

_You gave me wings and made me fly_

_And you set my spirit free_

_You are the only one for me_

_The person I could be with_

_Even through the darkest night_

_You saw in me the things_

_That no one else could see_

_And you saw me in a different light_

_You must have been an angel_

_Sent from high above_

_To guide me down my lonely road_

_And help me to see love_

_You are the only one for me_

_The person I could be with_

_Even through the darkest night_

_You saw in me the things_

_That no one else could see_

_And you saw me in a different light_

_You are the only one for me_

When Will finished his song, there wasn't a dry eye left in the room at that moment – everyone was extremely moved by his touching gift. Emma was beaming with pride, tears streaming down her face. "Thank you so much," she said as Rachel leaned over to hand her a tissue. "This was the best present I could ever hope for."

Will smiled. "Happy Birthday, Emma."


End file.
